Recent content by sidney

For no reason at all, because I was bored, and with no formula or structure to my thinking/analysis, I thought I would rank the 92 clubs in order of their 'bigness'. A deliberately ill-defined term, so as to avoid criticism... Comments welcome of course. I hope there are 92: Manchester...

I'm sure you are right about the economics. My thinking was also that a redesign of the Jungle 'triangle' would improve the general appearance of that corner of the ground. It all looks shabby and derelict.

Many thanks to those who have explained these accounts very well. The bottom line is that ECFC is a well run club with a good business model. Having said that, any club that depends upon transfer income will in the long term struggle. Which is why the attendance figures are important and...

I would be much happier to wait one more season and get the design right. This is essentially a good idea and a great opportunity, but thought is required.

1962/63, but can't remember the game. Went with my Dad and Granddad. Arnold Mitchell was one of my favourites, and I was honoured to play in a golf match with him years later. He didn't score many, but one was a thunderbolt from thirty yards, I believe in a 3-0 win against Crewe. He...

Thanks Fred, Modern football is in many ways very formulaic. ECFC, largely because we are fan-owned, but also because of our unique ground, etc., is distinctive and, well, a bit special. I'm sure every fan thinks the same of his club, but there it is. So I think a subtle approach to...

Great story. What happens if we put four forwards on the halfway line when they have a corner? They would have to leave five back at least presumably to mark them. Otherwise if our keeper collects the ball from the corner or a defender clears, we have four on four, recognized as a very...

Many thanks for the generally good-natured responses to my apparently altruistic post. The thing is, I actually think the 'play by the rules/don't waste time/'gentlemanly'/proper approach might well work. I don't recall the game ( but I think Ollie was playing ) when we scored an...

Thank you for starting an interesting thread which did not turn into a 'Caldwell Out' slogan fest, but instead produced an interesting discussion. My modest contribution is to say that I very much like the idea of a fan-owned club, and it has obviously turned out well. I would like ECFC to...

Agree it has to be Bastin. Didn't he run one of the pubs in Heavitree?

Mike Balson and Jimmy Giles: Balson flicked it on at the near post and Giler ploughed it in at the far post.

I thought our fans were superb, singing enthusiastically, and even showing some good humour. The pitch was perfect, the ground nearly full, so a good atmosphere, and the away support loud and sustained. Yet the team seemed lacklustre from the off, lost many 50/50 challenges, and played...

I must agree. The Big Bank really did the club proud - it must help the players so much to have that support. Good performance against a team that looked good in possession but could not penetrate our resilient defence. Hartridge really looks a fine player these days. Scott has the...

I think they came down to the South West two summers in a row, playing golf at Sidmouth Golf Club. QPR under Jim Smith did the same. That was around 1985. My recollection is that Forest were far better behaved than QPR.

Chelsea are clearly due a massive clearout, and Ethan will surely exit at the end of the season. It seems to me that the likely figure is going to be around £10 million. He may well go abroad, but I can imagine him joining one of the teams coming up from the Championship, or perhaps one of...